Review: Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks

Reviewed by Jaimie

Every time I think I have found my favorite Maya Banks book, she sets me straight with the next one! Keep Me Safe is the first book in Ms. Banks’ Slow Burn series and I could not put it down. The new trilogy contains plenty of suspense, love and even psychic elements, but at the core this book is a gripping story with loveable characters. Although Maya is known for her smoking hot sex scenes, Keep Me Safe really focuses on the emotional side of the relationship between Caleb and Ramie while setting up some future stories in the series.
Caleb Deveraux lives a life of privilege, aware that there are risks to that, but believing that his family is safe. When his security proves ineffective and his little sister Tori is kidnapped by a deranged psychopath, Caleb will do whatever is necessary to find her. He sets out on a mission to track down psychic Ramie St. Clair, who has a history of helping families find their missing loved ones. While she has been in hiding for several months, money and power help track her to a remote cabin.

Ramie is barely hanging on by a thread when Mr. Deveraux shows up on her doorstep accusing her of selfishly withholding her gift. What he cannot know is the toll that locating the victims takes on her, and he does not give her a chance to explain. Shoving his sister’s scarf in to her hands, Caleb throws her immediately in to the same hell his sister is experiencing. Watching what he has done to her, a horrified Caleb knows that he can never possibly repay the debt he owes her. He leaves to rescue his sister but promises her that he will be back to help her. When he returns she has disappeared again and this time he cannot find her.

Flash forward a year and Ramie is at the end of her rope. The lunatic chasing her continues to stay one step ahead of her and she has nowhere to turn. After she has to abandon her car, her purse and all of her belongings, a desperate Ramie calls Caleb Devereaux in a panic. After having searched for her consistently for the last year, Caleb had given up hope of locating the woman he owed so much to. To her relief he immediately agrees to help keep her safe and sends his best people in the area to protect her until he can get to her.

Caleb takes Ramie to his family home, which has significantly beefed up security since his sister’s abduction. Despite resistance from his brothers and his sister’s horrified reaction, he insists that she stay while they track down the man who is stalking her. Forming plans is difficult since the killer appears to have some type of a connection to Ramie and the team struggles to take him down.

The series is full of characters that I cannot wait to read more about. Although this is “Ramie and Caleb’s story”, the book serves as a great introduction to all the people we will be seeing in the series. Tori’s story is going to be heartbreaking after all that she has endured and it is going to be emotional to see her come out the other side. Caleb’s brothers are also a great story waiting to happen so I can’t wait to read the rest.

Ramie has been through hell and back. Knowing that she may be the last chance for many people, she has tortured herself doing whatever she can to help locate family members. She has been on her own since childhood with no one ever looking out for her, and trusting Caleb does not come easy. Her story was difficult to read at times but she was written in a way that she did not play the victim. Sure she had her moments but overall she is fighting to survive and did not give up. Caleb was a great match for her because he came from a supportive family, he was determined to make things right with her and he would not give up. Their story was really sweet.

Overall I loved this book and cannot wait for the next one. Thankfully it is being released in January 2015 so I don’t have to wait long!